Should Fondo Strategico get its way, it will be the first deal to be made from the state-backed vehicle, which raised €4bn last year. The new fund's chief executive, Giovanni Gorno Tempini, told a press conference yesterday: “Avio operates in a strategic sector, and we are following the dossier with great interest."

Cinven bought Avio in August 2006 in a deal that valued the Turin-based company at €2.57bn. Earlier this year, Italian newspaper MF reported that French aerospace group Safran was looking to buy Avio for around €3.3bn.

The company is also believed to be looking at a market listing in June, depending on market conditions. Reports emerged in September last year about possible suitors for Avio, but the talks hit a deadlock over political concerns of a foreign owner of the group.